"Let that pass," Devall said, seeing he would get no concrete reply. "Where would you try him?"
"Not far from here."
"Could I be present at the trial?"
"No."
Devall had learned enough of Markin grammar by now to realize that the form of the negative the priest had employed meant literally, I-say-no-and-mean-what-I-say. Moistening his lips, he said, "Suppose I should refuse to turn Lieutenant Leonards over to you for trial? How could I expect you people to react?"
There was a long silence. Finally the old priest said, "Would you do such a thing?"
"I'm speaking hypothetically." (Literally, the form was I-speak-on-a-cloud.)
"It would be very bad. We would be unable to purify the sacred garden for many months. Also—" he added a sentence of unfamiliar words. Devall puzzled unsuccessfully over their meaning for nearly a minute.
"What does that mean?" he asked at length. "Phrase it in different words."
"It is the name of a ritual. I would have to stand trial in the Earthman's place—and I would die," the priest said simply. "Then my successor would ask you all to go away."